Several fans have already alerted us to the official site where Starwars.com makes it official tonight! The gathering of the fans from across the world will be in Indy in April 2005. Sounds awesome - we'll be there in full force for sure!

The article mentions that it will be 4 days long and will be held in Indianapolis again. There will also be a Hyperscape chat with Steve Sansweet, Director of Content Management and head of Fan Relations for Lucasfilm. It will be held Jan. 28, 2:00 PST.
You can also check out the convention's official site in the future for updates.

Here's the official press release in full form, too:

Star Wars Celebration III, the much-anticipated fan gathering that will celebrate the Star Wars saga in advance of the opening of Star Wars Episode III, will return to the Indiana Convention Center April 21 to April 24, 2005.

The announcement of the location and dates of the convention was made jointly by Lucasfilm Ltd. and Gen Con LLC. Gen Con will manage the convention on behalf of Lucasfilm and the Official Star Wars Fan Club. Celebration II, held in Indianapolis in May 2002, attracted more than 26,000 fans from all over the world.

"We had such a great experience with Celebration II, that it just made sense to return to Indianapolis," said Steve Sansweet, Director of Content Management and head of Fan Relations for Lucasfilm. "Only this time we're going to do it bigger and even better. It's going to be an event that no fan will want to miss" Sansweet said that advance indications point to a significant increase in attendance at the event, which will take place several weeks before the Spring 2005 release of Star Wars Episode III. Because of that, and to mitigate long lines common to such conventions, Celebration III will occupy the entire convention center except for the RCA Dome. Also, the convention has been extended for a day, and will open around mid-day on Thursday, April 21.

"Gen Con is thrilled to be working with Lucasfilm on this very special event," said Peter Adkison, owner of Gen Con LLC, producer of Gen ConÂ® Indy, which also is held at the Indiana Center. "Together I know that we will produce an event that will not only meet, but exceed, fans' expectations. With Lucasfilm behind this show 100%, it's going to be the biggest party in the history of the franchise."

Sansweet noted that the Celebration III announcement is being made far earlier than the announcements for the first two official Star Wars fan conventions. "We want to give our fans all over the world the chance to plan their vacation time for this one-of-a-kind event," he said. "We've already been getting requests for information from Australia to Hungary."

Details about programming, guests, activities, entertainment and exclusive merchandise at Celebration III will be released as they are confirmed closer to the convention. The main places to check for information will be www.starwars.com, the official site, and www.starwarscelebration.com. Online ordering for admission to the event and for discounted hotel rooms is scheduled to begin late this summer.

I'm working with motf-jan from FanForce in Charleston SC. She's going check out renting a motor coach bus down there and get them to stop up here in NC on the way up to the con. She's also going to work with me on hotels.

My guess is because many folks were at Celebration II when Episode II tickets went on sale, and lots of folks were not happy about that. Thankfully, I stayed behind in Atlanta, armed with a credit card, to buy all my group's Ep. II tickets while they were at Celebration II.

I'm working with motf-jan from FanForce in Charleston SC. She's going check out renting a motor coach bus down there and get them to stop up here in NC on the way up to the con. She's also going to work with me on hotels.

Kardde, that sounds good. I may end up having to use the bus as well if I don't have another car by next April which hopefully I will. Also, my exams aren't on those days so I should be good. I also have some other friends here at Radford who may be interested in going. It wouldn't take much for me to drive them to Winston Salem, hop on the bus and head down.

I've driven through Indianappolis before many times (I used to live in Chicago and would always have to drive to visit my grandmother in Forest City, NC.) I know where the con center and RCA dome is. I actually was supposed to get tickets for celebration 2 while I was in Chicago but my grades in high school were terrible at that point. Celebration 3 will be my final chance to go to one of these and I wouldn't miss it for anything!